Allegory of the City of Madrid (Alegoría de la villa de Madrid)

As source materials for this royal portrait, Goya had only a print depicting the King's face produced in Rome. The lack of a model led him to design an intelligent composition based on an allegory of the city. A woman of harmonious proportions wearing a crown, a white tunic, and a pinkish mantle leans against a shield carrying the coat of arms of the city of Madrid. She is pointing to a majestic oval where the artist painted the face of Joseph I. Two angels hold the portrait of the monarch, while another two winged figures representing Fame and Victory fly above, accompanied by their respective attributes - a trumpet and a laurel crown. The artist's allegorical scheme is completed by a dog signifying loyalty, which is discreetly hidden behind the woman representing Madrid.

Historical events led to the painting being altered on various occasions in order to adapt it to the political tide of the times. Thus, following Wellington's victory at the Battle of Salamanca, Joseph I fled the city, and Goya hastened to paint over the Frenchman's face with the slogan "Constitución" ("Constitution"). When Napoleon's brother returned in November, Felipe Abas - one of Goya's disciples - eliminated his master's repainting to recover the figure of Joseph Bonaparte, as evidenced by the letter sent by Goya to the Secretary of the city of Madrid informing him of the events. The definitive victory over the French in 1813 led to another change to the oval, where Dionisio Gómez, another of Goya's disciples, wrote the motto "Constitución" once again. The story continued when Ferdinand VII returned to Spain and ordered the abolition of the Cádiz Cortes, which meant that Goya had to substitute the writing with a portrait of Ferdinand "the Desired". The result was not up to scratch, most likely because he commissioned the work to one of his collaborators. In 1826, taking advantage of Goya's absence (he had moved to Bordeaux), the royal portrait was repainted by Vicente López. Ten years after the death of Ferdinand VII, the city of Madrid requested the covering of the portrait with the inscription "Libro de la Constitución" ("Book of the Constitution") until in 1872 it was definitively replaced with the phrase "Dos de mayo" ("Second of May") which we see today. Interestingly, this last lettering is a homage to the day when the Spanish rose up against the French invaders led by Bonaparte, the first occupant of the frequently altered oval.